Engineering Design Competitions for Pre-Engineering Students

Engineering design competitions offer pre-engineering students hands-on projects to deepen the understanding of concepts and build teamwork, problem solving, and communication skills. These competitions provide an interactive approach to learning, allowing students to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world challenges. The engineering design competitions were implemented into the University of North Georgia (UNG) Gainesville Campus through a student-led organization called Engineering Student Guild (ESG). ESG mission is not only to provide design projects, but also workshops, tours, and a network to pre-engineering students to expand their skills beyond the classroom. In recognition of its contributions, ESG has recently received the Best Emerging Student Organization Award from the UNG’s Office of Student Involvement, highlighting its impact in the UNG community and education.  

ESG hosts semesterly design competitions, including Endurance Vessel Boat, Bridge Building, Rubber Band-powered Car where students develop and implement engineering design projects. With the design competitions, ESG officers would provide the students with a ruleset, supplies, and workshops to aid students in the design and testing journey. Furthermore, ESG officers would outline the learning objectives and skills at the beginning of the competition which were unknown to the participating members. The teams were required to design, build, and test the functionality of their projects through trial and error. After the competition, the ESG members would collect both quantitative and qualitative data through competition results and post-discussion to understand the effectiveness of the design competitions. Through this data, ESG officers have modified and expanded the future of the engineering design competitions.